Vibrating headphone band



Feb. 19, 1946.

L. THOMPSON VIBRATING HEADPHONE BAND Filed Sept. 4, 1944 N km W m w ATTORIKE'Y Patented Feb. 19, 1946 A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,395,356 A VIBRATING HEADPHONE BAND 7 Lincoln Thompson, Cheshire, Conn, 'assignor to The Soundscriber Corporation, New Haven, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application September 4, 1944, Serial No. 552,661

Claims.

. This invention relates to listening devices, and more particularly to a headphone band for electrical phonograph transcribers, telephone receivers, etc., in which said headphone band comprises a wide U-shaped strip provided with a pairof receiver units directly connected to the ends thereof.

One object of the present material of the headphone band itself will be caused to vibrate throughout its entire length for transmitting the sounds from all portions of said band.

Another object is to provide a vibrating headphone band of the above nature having good fidelity throughout the entire range of sounds transmitted thereto from the receiver units.

A further object is to provide a vibrating headphone band of the above nature, which will be constructed of light weight stiff material such as plastic requiring the minimum of metal reinforcement. a

A further object is to provide a vibrating headphone band of the above nature, which will be extremely comfortable to wear, being shaped to fit loosely around the ears of the operator, permitting. air circulation and exerting its main pressure upon the head above the ears, the band being sufiiciently wide to avoid undue pressure at any one point.

A further object is to provide a headphone band of the above nature which will fit a Wide range of head sizes.

A further object is to provide a headphone band of the above nature, in which the receiver units at each end will be protected by means of plastic casings, so that said units will not be injured in use. I

A further objectis to provide a headphone band of the above nature, having no protuberances which might cause discomfort to the wearer.

A further" object is to provide a headphone band of the above nature having ample driving power which permits transmission of sounds from the receiver units to the band without disabove nature which will be simple in construetion, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compactand light in weight;

invention is to provide a device of the above nature, in which the head of the transcriber, and the resulting im-.

ornamentalin appearance, and very efi'icient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

In the. drawing, r

Fig. 1 represents a plan view of the improved vibrating headphone band.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the same.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of one side of the vibrating headphoneband taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of'the arrows, showing the interior construction of a conventional receiver unit, and its connection to the headphone band.

The present invention is especially adapted for use with an all-electric transcribing machine of the type disclosed in Patent No. 2,250,- 242 to Lincoln Thompson, dated July 22,. 1941, and entitled Disk dictating machine. In use, the embossed and indented impressions in the grooves of a disk sound record cause the vibration of a sapphire-tipped stylus in the playback pulses are amplified and transmitted to the headphone bandwhich is fitted lightly over the head of the operator and falls naturally and easily over the ears.

The present headphone band is built' on the acoustic bafiie principle, and eliminates the necessity of cumbersome and. uncomfortable earphones. In the present invention receiver units are connected directly to the head band strip itself so that the latter will be vibrated for the transmission of sounds through the air to the ear from all points on said strip.

In the usual receiver units previously employed on headphone bands, the diaphragm was small and had a high natural period of vibration, so that sounds of low frequencywere not faithfully reproduced. With the present invention, where a wide plastic band having a low natural period of vibration is connected with the highirequency receiver units, the resultant combined structure will faithfully reproduce sounds of both low and high frequency, thus greatly enhancing the range of performance of the headphone band, and providing greater fidelity and consequent increased intelligibility of the transcription.

While the present invention is designed particularly for use. on a transcriber of adictatin machine, it may also be employed within the spirit and scope of the invention for transcribing sounds received over the radio or telephone.

Referring now to the drawing in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral H] indicates a top section of the headphone band which is substantially semi-cylindrical in shape and is preferably made. of a strip of stiff plastic material such as *Vinylite. The top section II is integral with a pair of intermediate double curved 8-shaped sections II, I 2, which are in a turn integrally joined to a pair of outwardly offset canted flat end sections l3, M, respectively, the latter having outturned extremities l5, [6 to permit the headphone band to be more easily placed in position upon the head without danger of entangling the hair.

The intermediate sections ll, i2 are provided at their ends with smoothly curved junctions [1, I8 and I9, which are connected to the top section It and to the offset end sections l3, M, respectively.

In order to transmit sounds from a transcriber amplifier, radio set, or telephone, not shown, to

the vibrating headphone band of this invention,.

provision is made of a pair of small receiver units 2|, 22 enclosing smaller cylindrical casings 23,preferably constructed of-molded plastic composition such as Bakelite. 7

Located within each of the casings 23 is a magnet 25 to which are connected a pair of pole pieces or cores 26, 21 surrounded by a pair of coils 28, 29, which are adapted to vibrate a magnetic armature 3il which is separated from said coresby airgaps 3!, 32'. The armature is rigidly connected as by a screw 32a. to a circular diaphragm 33, which is secured at its edge to the exterior of the casing 23- by means of a clamping ring 34, as clearly shown in Fig. l.

The diaphragm 33 is rigidly connected by means of a flanged driving shaft 35, which is tapped at both ends, to the outer end section l3, (M) of the headphone band strip. The driving shaft 35 is connected to the armature 30 and diaphragm 33 by the screw 32a, and to said end section [3, (M) by a screw 36.

Each receiver unit 2 l, 22 is protected by a plastic base cup member 3'! secured as by rivets to the end section I3, (14), and provision is made of outer cover caps 38 telescoped upon said cup members 31 secured thereto, in any desired manner; preferably by cement.

The headphone band strip I0 is herein shown as reinforced by a narrow metal band 39 which is held in place by three U-shaped clips 40, 4|, 42, having their bases 43, 44 riveted to said top band section I0, as shown. The clips 49, 4|, 42 also embrace a wire cable 45 connecting the receiver units 21, 22.

Operation.

In operation it will be understood that when the coils 28, 29 of the receiver units receive electrical impulses, the cores 26, 2'! will be energized, causing the armature 36 and the diaphragm 33 of each receiving unit to be set into vibration. This vibration will be transmitted through the driving shaft 35 to the end section I3, (14) of the headphone band, causing said band to vibrate throughout its entire length with the diaphragms of the receiver units 2|, 22. A listener is thus enabled to hear at any part of the band, and there is no need for accurate alignment of the receiver'units with respect to the ears of the listener.

2,395,356 g l i'.

One advantage of the present invention is that the large surface of the headphone band gives far better reproduction of the low frequencies than was possible with the ordinary small diaphragms of the ordinary earphones formerly used.

A further advantage is that the smooth inside surface of the improved headphone band has no projections. or metal slides to entangle the hair.

A still further advantage of the present invention is that the offset canted ends of the headphone band avoid any substantial pressure upon the ears of the operator and also serve as shields to exclude extraneous sounds coming from sources other than the receiver units.

While there has been disclosed in this sp'ecification one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure, but may be modified and embodied in variousother form-s without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments shaped to fitv about the head of an operator, and a. receiver unit secured rigidly to one fiat end of said band for transmitting sounds from said unit directly to said band so as to set the entire band into acoustic vibration.

2. In a. headphone, a U-shaped band offlexible stiff material having'flat wide ends and shaped to fit loosely about the head of a listener, and a' pair of receiver units secured solidly to both fiat ends of said band for transmitting sounds directly from said receiver units to said band so as to set all. parts of the latter into simultaneous acoustic vibration.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 15in which said headphone band has its flatends offset outwardly to avoid any substantial pressure upon the ear of the operator.

4..The'invention as set forth in claim Lin which the flat ends of said headphone band are canted through angles to provide for a more comfortable fit upon the head of the operator.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 1, in l which said headphone band is oiTset outwardly at its fiat ends and is also canted through angles to provide a more comfortable fit on the listener's head. a K i 6. In a headphone band, a continuous U- shaped strip of flexible stiif material. having flat ends shaped to fit the head of the user, a pair of receiver units having vibratory diaphragms rigidly secured to the flat'ends of said strip for trans-f mitting sound vibrations to said strip, the ends of said strip being offset outwardly from the op'er-- ators ears to provide a comfortable fit upon the head of the user.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 1, in which said receiver units are provided with pro tective casings to prevent injury during use.

8. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which said U-shaped band is reinforced with a narrow metal band located on the exterior thereof.

9. The invention as defined in claim'l, in which,

said U-shaped band is reinforced with a-narrow metal band located on the exterior thereof, and

secured to said band by a plurality of -U-shaped.

clips; riveted to said band.

10. In a headphone', a U-shaped band of flexible stiff material having a curved rear section and fiat end sections shaped to fit loosely over the top and sides ofthe operator' head respectively, a pair of receiver units having a pair of vibratory diaphragms connected rigidly to the flat end sections of said band, means to reinforce the rear section of said band, comprising a narrow metal strip, and a plurality of U-shaped clips embracing said strip and secured to the exterior of said band for holding said strip in position.

11. The invention as defined in claim 10, in which said clips are provided with semi-circular upper sections and an electric cable located under said clips for connecting the receiver units.

12. In a headphone, a relatively wide flexible U-shaped band of stiff material shaped to fit about the head of an operator, and a receiver unit secured rigidly to one end of said band for transmitting sounds from said unit directly to said band so as to set it into acoustic vibration throughout its entire length.

13. In a headphone, a relatively wide flexible U-shaped band of stifi material shaped to fit about the head of an operator, and having a relatively low natural period of acoustic vibration, and a receiver unit having a relatively high natural period of acoustic vibration secured rigidly to one end of said band for transmitting sounds from said unit directly to said band so as to set it into acoustic vibration throughout its length, whereby the combined receiver unit and band will faithfully reproduce sounds of a wide range of frequency thus increasing the intelligibility of the reproduction.

14. In a headphone, a continuous flexible U- shaped band of stiff material shaped to fit the head of the operator, a pair of receiver units having vibratory diaphragms rigidly secured to the ends of said band for transmitting sound vibrations directly thereto, the ends of said band being offset outwardly from the operators ears to provide a comfortable fit upon his head.

15. In a headphone, a, U-shaped flexible wide band of reinforced stiff sheet material shaped to fit loosely over the top and sides of an operator's head, a pair of receiver units having vibratory diaphragm connected rigidly and directly to the ends of said band, an electric cable located on the exterior of said band for connecting said receiver units, and means for embracing said cable and securing it to said band.

LINCOLN THOMPSON. 

